Holding Every Breath She Has
by mystery of the mist
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Emma is adopted by Gibbs and Jenny and faces drama everyday. WARNING: CONTAINS DISCIPLINARY SPANKING OF A TEENAGER
1. Change is Good

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW!**

**THIS STORY CONTAINS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT/DISCIPLINARY SPANKING OF A TEENAGER BUT NOT IN THIS CHAPTER.**

**THIS IS MY FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER STORY!**

Emma Johnson sat on the sidewalk, angry at everything. But most importantly angry at life.

How could her father do that to her? She was ashamed to call him her father. No wonder her mother ran off when Emma was a baby. He died of drug overdose.

And Emma was proud to say that she didn't care.

At fourteen, Emma had been in and out of foster homes her whole life. Her father was a drug addict and was in and out of rehabs. And now here she was again at a foster home. Of course, she was the oldest. The next kid that was closest to her in age was seven. Half her age, for crying out loud! That was Travis. Then there's four-year-old Ethan, three-year-old Tammy, and two-year-old Gia.

Mrs. Smithley, the foster mom, was in her late forties, as with her husband. They were both very nice to Emma and tried to get her to open up to them, but Emma wouldn't, being the stubborn girl that she is.

Tammy's voice came from the porch of the house. "Emma, can you braid my hair?"

Emma smiled. The two little girls at the foster home were adorable and loved Emma. Emma turned around and said, "Sure, I'm coming."

She walked into the house and up into Tammy's room. "Two braids or one?" she asked the little girl.

"Two, please!"

In ten minutes, Tammy's hair was in braided pigtails. She hugged Emma. "Thanks, Emma!"

"Anytime, kid."

Emma headed into her room. Sighing, she laid back on the bed.

Two minutes had passed when Mrs. Smithley was at the door. "Emma, there's a couple coming here shortly. Why don't you get ready?"

Emma nodded. "Okay."

Mrs. Smithley smiled before leaving to get the boys ready.

Though Emma knew that she wouldn't be adopted, she brushed her light brown hair smooth anyway. She knew that no couple was looking for a fourteen-year-old girl.

Emma put on a pair of khaki pants and a brown sweater with a V-neck with a white tank underneath. She put in silver stud earrings and made way to Gia's room.

"Need any help, Gia?" Emma asked.

Gia nodded, standing in front of her closet. "Please."

Emma smiled and grabbed a navy blue knee skirt and and white blouse for Gia.

Now for Tammy.

Walking into Tammy's room, she asked, "Want some help?"

"Thank you."

Emma chose a gray skirt and a pretty pink top for the three-year-old. She ventured back to her own room.

Soon Emma heard voices from the foyer. She looked out of her room and was able to see from where the stairs were Mr. and Mrs. Smithley talking to a couple. The woman had red hair that curled at the bottom and bangs. The man had an expression on his face that spelled out, "Don't mess with me."

Mrs. Smithley soon called down all the kids. "This is Emma, Travis, Ethan, Tammy, and Gia. We'll leave you to talk to them and see their rooms." Emma noticed that the man's face softened at the sight of the kids.

Emma immediately went back upstairs to her room. They wanted to talk to the rest of the kids, not her.

"You wanna see my room?" Tammy asked the woman.

"Sure, honey." She followed Tammy upstairs.

When walking by Emma's room, the woman smiled warmly at the fourteen-year-old, and Emma managed a weak smile back. Of course, she was happy for the kids because they'd be able to live in a good home with loving parents, but it made her heart ache knowing that no one wanted her. No matter how nice anyone was to her, she knew that in the end they'd adopt a younger kid.

Before she knew it, there was a knock on the open door of her room. It was the man from downstairs.

"Come in," she called.

"I'm Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but call me Gibbs."

"I'm Emma."

"How old are you, Emma?"

Emma's eyes almost teared up. This was always the part that turned people away. "Fourteen."

"I bet all the kids look up to you."

That took Emma by surprise. She expected him to say something to end the conversation and go talk to one of the other kids.

She gave a tiny smile. "Yeah, especially Tammy and Gia."

"What kind of stuff do you like to do?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know, all kinds of things. I like basketball. Travis and I play in the driveway a lot. I like to dance. I'm really interested in choreography. What do you do for work?"

"I work at NCIS. That stands for-"

"Naval Criminal Investagative Service. I walk by on my way home from school. What do you do there?"

"I'm the lead agent on the Major Case Response Team. Jenny, my wife, is the building secretary, but she's also certified to be an agent, so she's sort of like a back-up agent at times."

"Cool. And by the way, you don't have to," Emma stated.

"Don't have to what?"

"Don't have to do what you're doing."

"What am I doing?"

Emma felt like she was going to cry. "You don't have to talk to me. I know you're probably interested in adopting one of the younger kids."

Gibbs walked over to Emma and put a hand on her shoulder. "That's not true, sweetie."

"Yes it is! It's too late for me!"

A few tears made their way down Emma's cheeks. She burried her face in her pillow.

Gibbs gently rubbed her back. "It's okay, Emma. Everything's going to be okay. Don't worry about anything. It's not too late for you."

He saw Jenny standing in the doorway, watching with sad eyes. She nodded at her husband twice, signaling that they should adopt Emma.

Gibbs nodded back. He whispered to Emma, "Emma, we're thinking of adopting you. How would you like that?"

Emma got up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Really? Why?"

"Because you deserve it, sweetheart," Jenny said.

Emma smiled. "Are you sure? I'm kinda stubborn."

"If I can deal with him, I can deal with you, Emma. You're probably not stubborn at all compared to him," Jenny joked.

After goodbyes to the kids and promises to come back and see them, Emma was in the car with Gibbs and Jenny.

"We'll be home in five minutes," Jenny said to Emma.

Emma nodded and looked out the window, gazing at everything they drove by.

The car pulled into a driveway. Emma assumed that this was their house.

"I'll show you your room, Emma," Jenny announced, leading the way up the stairs.

Jenny opened a door on the left side of the hallway. "We're gonna decorate it, don't worry. You won't be stuck with boring white walls forever."

Emma smiled. "Thank you."

"Jethro and my room is right there-" Jenny pointed to a room down the hall "-the bathroom's right here, and the other two doors are spare bedrooms."

"Okay."

"Come on, let's go eat."

Emma followed Jenny. _This could work out_, she thought.

* * *

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	2. Letting Go of the Pain

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF THE CAHRACTERS ON THE SHOW!**

**HUGE RECOLLECTION OF ABUSE IN THIS CHAPTER!**

Emma sat beside Jenny at the kitchen table. This was a real meal. Her father had always just gotten take-out or TV dinners or something. Never once had he cooked. He just didn't care about his daughter like he should.

There was another thing that was bothering her. It was Gibbs. Well, it wasn't really _him_, exactly, but it was just instinct for her. Her father had beaten her before, usually when he was high off of crack or pot or something. And now Gibbs was her father. Did all fathers do that? Did they all beat their kids? Emma didn't think they did. But what if Gibbs did?

Even though Gibbs had calmed her down at the foster home, Emma was still nervous. She had issues with trust.

"Emma, tomorrow do you mind coming to work with us? Then we can go pick out stuff for your room," Jenny stated as they cleared the table.

"Alright. But only if it's okay. Am I allowed to be at NCIS?" Emma wondered, secretly hoping that the answer would be yes. She really wanted to go there.

"It's fine, you can either sit with Jethro at his desk or with me at my desk."

Emma nodded, knowing that she'd be sitting with Jenny but didn't say anything. She was just extremely excited to be going.

It was now 6:30. Emma knew that she wouldn't fall asleep for at least three hours. What now?

"Here, sweetie," Jenny said, handing Emma a laptop. "Jethro and I figured that you don't have anything to do so we decided to get you a laptop. I think Jethro's still hooking up the Internet on it, though, so if you want you can go on the family computer while you wait."

"Thank you so much. You really didn't have to do this."

"But we wanted to. You're now our daughter."

Emma smiled at Jenny. And it was actually a real smile, not the half smiles she was forced to give so often. "Thank you, Jenny."

_You should've just said it, Idiot_, Emma scolded herself. "Mom" had been on the tip of her tongue, but what if Jenny got mad? Would Jethro beat her for getting his wife mad?

Looking at the floor, Emma shyly questioned, "WoulditbeokayifIcalledyouMom?"

Even though Jenny had a pretty good idea as to what Emma had asked, she said, "What did you say?"

Emma gulped. Did that mean that she was getting mad? "Umm...would it, uh, be okay if I, uh, if I called you Mom?"

Jenny smiled. "Of course, Emma. But I hope you don't feel forced to calling me that."

"No, absolutely not. It's just...I've never had a mom before."

"If I go overboard, stop me. I've always wanted a daughter to do stuff with, you know, like girl stuff. I mean, of course Jethro can come to the mall with me, but seriously, he's a pain to shop with. Try going into Victoria's Secret with him."

Emma laughed.

Jenny continued, "Have you ever gotten a manicure or a pedicure?"

Emma shook her head.

"We have to go soon!"

* * *

Emma turned off her bedroom light and got under the covers. Her first day here had been good. Although she was still a little bit scared of Gibbs, she now called Jenny "Mom." And that felt great.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. "Come in," Emma told the person who was knocking.

The door silently opened and Gibbs stepped into the room.

"Are you sleeping, Emma?"

"Nope," the fourteen-year-old replied. She flicked the switch on a lamp on the bedside table.

"Just wanted to say goodnight," Gibbs explained. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Emma returned.

She felt herself tense as Gibbs walked over to her. She squeezed the edges of the plain comforter as he bent down.

But her surprised her by kissing her forehead.

"Night, sweetheart."

"Night."

Maybe there was nothing to be scared of. Maybe it was all in her head.

But Emma was smart. She knew that life wasn't always what you saw with your eyes. She had had plenty of experience with that. But Emma knew that she had to at least give Gibbs a chance.

And maybe even someday she'd call him "Dad."

Or she'd end up in a hospital becaused she had been beaten.

Emma hoped that it was the first option.

* * *

"Time to go, honey."

Emma could hear Jenny's voice in her ear. She slowly lifted her head from the pillow.

"Good morning, Emma."

"Good morning, Mom."

Jenny smiled. "Time to leave."

Jenny left so Emma could get ready. She looked through her clothes. She didn't have that much of a selection. And some of it she was outgrowing.

In the end, Emma threw on a pair of jeans and a striped sweater. She put on multicolored socks, smiling at the abstract design.

Emma pulled the top part of her hair back into an elastic and let the rest remain free. She exited her room and descended the stairs.

Gibbs was downstairs already. He had the TV on. It was some news station. He was less than thrilled with whatever story that was being reported.

_Uh-oh_, Emma thought to herself. Angry Gibbs. Her standing right there. Jenny still upstairs.

She would most likely be hit.

Emma braced herself for the first blow. But nothing came.

"Emma, are you okay?" Gibbs asked, noticing the girl tense up and close her eyes.

She opened one eye at a time. "Please don't hit me," she begged. "I've had enough of that."

Gibbs walked over to her. Emma jumped back but Gibbs managed to grab her wrist. "I would never hit you, Emma. That's not what fathers should do. Did your father do that to you?"

Emma let a few tears fall. "Yeah."

Gibbs guided her over to the couch and sat down, placing her beside him. "Do you want to tell me about what's happened to you in your life? You don't have to be ashamed or embarrassed, sweetie."

Emma nodded. She had never told anyone anything about how she felt about everything that had gone on in her life. In fact, the only people that had a hint of what had happened in her life were the foster caretakers and child services. But here she was, about to tell Gibbs everything.

"Okay, so my mother apparently ran to God knows where when I was a baby. Never even knew her. Don't even know her name.

"So yeah, my father was a drug addict. Pot and crack and anything that he was able to smoke. And of course, being high made him crazy, and he was abusive. A lot.

"The first time I went into a foster home was when I was four. There were six other kids there, two younger than me and the rest older. That's all I knew about them. I was too scared to talk to anyone. I ended up there because during pre-school I had fainted and was rushed to the hospital. They had found out that my father had been the one to put all of the bruises and injuries that caused me to fight against me. So they discovered that he was doing drugs, so he had to go to rehab for three months.

"I remember being so shocked when he had come to pick me up. I had been so hopeful that I could stay there forever. No one had ever hurt me and they helped me do things that my father had made me do.

"The second time I was at a foster home was when I was seven. Actually, I went twice that year. The first time for two months, but when my father got out, he got even worse, and then he got sent back just a week later for two additional months.

"The next time I went I was ten. My father had beaten me horribly the night before and beat me again when I woke up. But he still sent me to school. And then the teacher sent me to the nurse who called an ambulance to take me to the hospital. That had been the worst beating yet. I had gotten two broken ribs, and fractured wrist, three broken fingers, and multiple cracks in my skull. Not to mention that there were four cuts on my body that needed stitches and several others that were bandaged up.

"After spending a week in the hospital, I was sent to another foster home. There were only two other kids, both younger than me. At that point, most foster kids were younger than me. And when my father came back, he actually greeted me like you would expect a father to greet their daughter that they haven't seen in four months. But it was all an act just to get social services to quit paying attention to him. He was crueler than I ever had seen him before.

"He had called me everything that's foul on this planet. I was so accustomed to him calling me Bitch or Worthless or Freak that at school I had a tough time remembering my name when someone talked to me."

Tears were forming in Emma's eyes. "I woulda rather been beaten. Injuries will heal, but what he called me will always car be for life."

She paused for a moment as tears began to cover her face. Gibbs rubbed her back and said, "You don't have to continue if you don't want to, Emma."

Stubbornly, she shook her head, wiping all the tears from her eyes so she could keep on going with the storytelling. "When I was eleven, twelve, and thirteen, I had spent three months in a foster home each year. And then came three days ago.

"His exact words were, 'You ain't gonna be Bitch, Freak, or Worthless no more. You gonna be slut. You and me, bed tonight.' That's what he said to me, to his daughter that he was supposed to love!"

Emma began to full out sob. Gibbs took her in his arms and attempted to soothe her, but she didn't stop crying. Jenny came downstairs and the sight immediately put worry in her eyes.

"We're leaving, Emma," Gibbs said softly. He carried her into the car.

The whole way there, Emma continued to cry.

"Emma, I'm going to take you to meet a friend of ours. His name's Dr. Mallard but everyone calls him Ducky. He's a Medical Examiner but is also a doctor. He's gonna take a look at you," Gibbs said.

Emma nodded, acknoledging that she had heard, but continued to cry.

Gibbs placed the sobbing girl on a steel table. "I need you to do a sexual assault examination," he whispered to Ducky. "I can't get an answer to whether or not she was raped."

Ducky nodded, getting everything ready. The poor girl, most likely raped from the sound of it. This was not the way that Ducky had hoped on meeting Gibbs and Jenny's new daughter.

Emma sobbed even harder as the exam went on. When it was over, Ducky said, "Nothing, Jethro. No sign of anything."

Gibbs sighed in relief. "Emma, please tell me what happened, sweetheart. You have no reason to be ashamed. Whatever happened to you happened. You're still you."

To his relief, Emma's cries began to lessen. "Okay, so he comes in my room and pulls the thin blanket that barely kept me warm off the bed. The bed was old and very uncomfortable. But he climbed in and tried to pull my pants down. Without putting much thought into my decision, I kicked him where no man wants to be kicked. He fell backwards and I ran for all that I was worth.

"I ended up at City Hall. I told them what had happened to me, and they had gotten child services. I was in a foster home the next day."

In approximately one second, Emma was in Gibbs' arms.

* * *

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	3. She's Scared

**DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT THE OWNER OF NCIS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!**

**WARNING: SHORT SPANKING IN THIS CHAPTER. NOTHING MAJOR, BUT IF YOU FLAME I'LL LAUGH BECAUSE I JUST WANRED YOU!**

**ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

"Okay, now you've seen autopsy, so let's got to the Forensic Lab," Gibbs said in the elevator. He pushed the proper button for Abby's lab and he and Emma waited for the sliding doors to open.

When Gibbs and Emma walked in, Abby said, "Gibbs, I can feel you staring."

Gibbs chuckled and led Emma into the room. "You're getting good, Abby."

Abby turned around and beamed at Emma as soon as she saw her. "So you must be Emma! You're now a Gibblet! I'm Abby Sciuto, Forensics Extraordinare."

Emma smiled. "Hi, Abby."

"Let's go meet the team," Gibbs said. When Abby looked at him with puppy dog eyes, he added, "Yes, you can come, too, Abby."

"Yes!" Abby exclaimed.

Tony, Tim, and Ziva all looked up when Gibbs and Abby walked in. There was a kid with them. That must be the kid Gibbs and Jenny adopted.

"Get back to work," Gibbs ordered. When the three agents didn't do anything, he said, "This is Emma. Emma, that's DiNozzo, McGee, and Ziva. They're getting back to work right now."

Abby remained standing next to Gibbs.

"You, too, Abby."

Abby pouted but headed back to her lab.

* * *

Emma, Gibbs, and Jenny had just gotten home from NCIS. Emma wanted to go back again.

"You have a dentist appointment tomorrow, Emma," Jenny said.

Emma froze. Of course her father had never taken her, but she had heard from her friends about how awful it was. Her friends Natalie and Carrie had went on and on about how much getting a filling sucked.

Finally, Emma nodded. "Alright."

That night, Emma went to bed shaking. She knew she had to have at least one cavity. Most likely more. Her teeth were bothering her a lot and her father had never gotten her a toothbrush. But he also hadn't fed her an awful lot, either. So maybe there wouldn't be too many cavities. Oh, well, Emma was still scared.

* * *

"No, you can't make me go!" Emma yelled. "I won't!"

Gibbs kept Emma from running. "We can do this the easy way, which is you cooperating, or we can do this the hard way, which is me forcing you to cooperate. What's it gonna be?"

"You can't force me to cooperate! You can't force me to do anything!" Emma exclaimed exasperatedly.

Gibbs turned her over and delivered two swats to her bottom. "You're going, Emma. You're going if you care about your health."

"I'm perfectly healthy and my teeth are, too."

"You don't know that for certain."

"Yes, I absolutely do!"

Gibbs sighed. "Emma, go in the car. Now," he added when she didn't move.

Emma just crossed her arms and sat on the couch.

Gibbs sat beside her and bent her over his lap. He reigned six hard swats to her bottom. "Now, if you don't get in the car, you'll get a spanking for much longer than it just was. Much longer."

Finally Emma gave up and walked to Gibbs' car.

"What are you waiting for?" Gibbs asked. "Get in and sit down."

"Yeah, um, the getting in part I can do, but the sit down part is a no can do."

"It's part of the consequence of protesting. Sit down. Now, young lady."

Unwillingly, Emma sat on the seat of the car and winced as it increased the sting on her bottom.

* * *

"Emma Gibbs?" the hygienist called.

Emma stood up slowly. She looked at Gibbs pleadingly.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll come with you."

She was hoping he'd say that she didn't have to go, but she'd take that, too.

Emma sat down on the gray chair in the middle of the tiny room. The hygienist, whose nametag read, "TINA," put a paper bib around Emma. Emma realized that nothing would happen while the woman cleaned her teeth, so she kept her mouth open the whole time. But when the dentist walked in, she clamped her mouth shut and refused to open it.

"It won't hurt, honey," Dr. Roberts attempted to assure Emma, but she kept her mouth closed, shaking her head.

"Come on, Emma, you can do it," Gibbs said. Emma just developed a few tears in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, don't cry," Dr. Roberts stated. "You won't feel a thing. It only takes a minute."

Finally, with one last look at Gibbs, Emma opened her mouth.

"A little bit more, Emma," Dr. Roberts said.

Emma bravely opened her mouth wider.

She squeezed Gibbs' hand as the exam began.

"She has one cavity on the second farthest back molar on the top right," Dr. Roberts announced.

Emma's eyes widened. She remembered the day Natalie, a friend of hers, had gotten a filling.

"Dude, it's freakin' killing me!" Natalie had complained.

Then Emma recalled the day another friend of hers, Carrie, had gotten a filling.

Carrie had shaken her head. "My tooth feels like shit," she had wined.

Emma couldn't help but let a few tears fall.

"Okay, Emma, this is going to numb where we'll be filling the cavity," the dentist explained, holding a syringe.

A shot? In her gums? She hadn't heard about this and it caused her to be even more worried than she already was.

Emma squeezed Gibbs' hand as hard as she could when the needle hit her gum. She let out a pained yelp as it went under her flesh.

But soon her mouth was so numb that she couldn't feel anything. During the entire procedure, Emma felt nothing.

Until she got home.

"The stupid novacaine wore off!" Emma yelled, clearly exasperated.

* * *

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	4. A Talk Afterwards

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE CHARACTERS OF NCIS OR THE SHOW ITSELF.**

**WARNING: MENTION OF SPANKING**

**KIND OF A SHORT CHAPTER-BUT EXPECT A LONGER UPDATE IN AROUND FOUR DAYS AT THE MOST!**

**Sorry that I haven't updated in a while-I've had this chapter written and I forgot to post it!**

"How could you spank her, Jethro?" Jenny demanded, preparing dinner, her eyes unmoving from what she was cooking.

"Jenny, I told you already, it was only six swats. Just enough to get her to realize that she couldn't worm her way out of this," Gibbs said, and then added, "Or anything else."

Jenny sighed, pausing what she was doing and staring out the window at nothing. "She was beaten, Jethro. Beaten on a daily basis. And yet somehow, you somehow believe that she won't think that's abuse?" Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Jenny-"

"Don't 'Jenny' me! She's a kid, Jethro! She's a sweet, innocent kid with a horrible past. You can't just spank her. She's different. It's just...it's just not right." Jenny knew she was on the verge of tears. She met her husband's eyes for a second.

"Emma's strong, Jenny. The strongest girl her age, and that's without any doubt."

"You're missing the point, Jethro," Jenny stated, dumping the pasta into the white strainer. "Emma needs love and care, and she sure as hell doesn't think that love and care come as a spanking."

"Jen, it was only six swats. Just six. And I only did it because I love her and I don't want anything to get in the way of her health, including her own self. And I know damn well that you believe that spanking is effective."

Jenny took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "You clearly don't understand. Jethro, come on-yes, of course I believe in spanking, and of course I know it works. Any time I screwed up my ass was spanked, and you know what, I ensured that I would never do that again. Because I knew the consequences."

"You just supported my side, Jen."

"Listen, Jethro, this isn't a time for you to 'Jen' me. I'm gonna go talk to her. Make sure nothing happens to the food."

She walked past Gibbs without a glance and headed up the stairs to Emma's room.

"Emma? Sweetie, can I come in?" Jenny asked, knocking twice on the door.

"Sure," Emma's voice said shakily.

Jenny opened the door quietly and shut it gently, careful not to slam it. She walked over to the bed where Emma was faced up, head against the pillow.

"Emma," she began, sitting on Emma's desk chair. "Do you understand why Jethro spanked you?"

"Because he was mad."

"Absolutely not, honey. There is no reason to become violent if you're mad. He did it because he cares about you. He didn't want anything to get in the way of you being healthy, and that includes yourself. Sweetheart, do you understand that?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Okay, why don't you come downstairs? Dinner's almost ready. Well, that is if Jethro managed not to burn anything."

Emma giggled. "Let's go see."

Jenny smiled at the sight of Emma hopping to her feet.

The two girls walked down the stairs and stood at the entryway to the kitchen. Emma held back a laugh at Gibbs.

He was yelling at the stove.

"Stupid stove!"

"You know, Jethro, it's an inanimate object. It can't hear you," Jenny said.

He playfully glared at his wife.

Emma couldn't stop the string of laughter that came from her. Gibbs walked over to her. "Oh, so that's funny, huh?"

Grinning, Emma said, "Yup, I do."

"We apparently don't have the same sense of humor."

Emma laughed. She was growing more accustomed to living with Gibbs and Jenny.

* * *

"Emma, I'm very sorry, honey," Gibbs said, "and I hope you understand that I still love you and you're still the best daughter anyone could ask for."

"I understand. I know I shouldn't have acted the way I did. But does this mean if I mess up, you're gonna spank me?" Emma questioned, her voice edged with hope that he wouldn't.

Gibbs chuckled at Emma's hope. "Yes, Emma, I will spank you. As long as you understand it's not abuse."

Emma nodded. "I know it's not."

* * *

"Mom, I don't feel good," Emma announced, walking into her parents' bedroom. Jenny was sitting on the bed in her pajamas with a manila folder full of paperwork. She looked up at her daughter worriedly.

"What's wrong, honey?" Jenny patted the bed beside her and Emma came over to sit down.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. The bruise on my stomach is hurting me a lot. I mean, yeah, it hurts all the time, but this is like, like _serious_ pain. Like I've never felt before."

* * *

**The first part of the climax comes next chapter!**

**There'll be four more chapters: the beginning of the climax, the main part of the climax, the end of the climax, and the epilogue.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	5. Something Never Expected

**DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT THE OWNER OF NCIS, AND THAT INCLUDES ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OF THE SHOW!**

**I bet no one expected this!**

**There's no spanking in this chapter, and not in the next chapter, but in the chapter after that there will be.**

**Expect very frequent updates-we're almost at the end!**

"Jethro, I'm taking Emma to NCIS to see Ducky," Jenny called down the stairs to the basement.

Gibbs came upstairs. "Why, what's wrong?"

"She doesn't feel good. Might be food poisoning," Jenny theorized, pulling her coat around her.

"I'm coming."

That's how Emma winded up at NCIS on a steel table in autopsy. Jenny was worrying like crazy and Gibbs was attempting to calm her down. Emma periodically threw up.

After a few tests, Ducky said, "You were correct, Jennifer. This is food poisoning. But it was deliberately placed into whatever young Emma was to have for dinner."

"Time to catch another dirt bag," Gibbs muttered. "Where was the last place Emma had dinner at? I'll send McGee and DiNozzo there."

"Wherever we went out to last night," Jenny stated. She wrote down the name of the restaurant on a piece of scrap paper and Gibbs headed up to the bullpen.

Meanwhile, Emma looked worried. "Ducky, am I gonna die?"

"No, my dear, that will not be occuring."

Emma sighed in relief. "Why would someone try to kill me?" The tears were evident.

Jenny pulled Emma into her arms and gave her a firm hug. "Don't worry about it, sweetie, Daddy will get whoever did. I'll help, too. I'm dropping any work I have to do until this is all solved and is behind us."

* * *

"Do you recognize this girl, Mr. Harvington?" McGee asked the restaurant manager, John Harvington, showing him a picture of Emma.

Harvington looked at the photo. "Yeah, she came in here last night with two people, a man and a woman."

"What did she have to eat?"

The man shrugged. "I don't know."

"Yeah, here's how it works, Harvington," DiNozzo began. "You tell us what she ate, we investigate from there. You don't tell us, we arrest you for purposely poisoning this girl's food. Your choice."

Harvington grew angry. "I don't have any idea what she freakin' ate! Hell with this!"

"John Harvington, you're under arrest," McGee said, cuffing the restaurant manager. "You have the right to remain silent, though anything you see can be used against you."

As McGee told Harvington the rights and consequences, DiNozzo called Gibbs.

"Gibbs," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Boss, it's me," Tony said.

"What did you find, DiNozzo?"

Tony sighed. "Not much. Just a restaurant manager who appears to be guilty and won't give us any information. John Harvington's his name. He's been giving us a hard time."

"Did you arrest him?"

"Yeah, McGee cuffed him and now we're waiting for a cruiser."

"Alright, good work, DiNozzo. Let me talk to McGee."

Tony and Tim switched positions, Tony waiting with John Harvington and Tim talking to Gibbs on the phone.

"Hey, boss."

"McGee, talk to whoever the chef is there. If he gives you any trouble like Harvington did, arrest him, too."

McGee nodded, even though his boss couldn't see him. "Got it, boss."

"Good work, McGee."

As he ended the call, McGee smiled. It was good to feel appreciated by his boss.

* * *

"So you remember my daughter, wife, and I from the restaurant, I take it?" Gibbs asked, walking into the interrogation room and pulling out the other chair that was opposite beside John Harvington. Gibbs showed two pictures to Harvington: one of Jenny and one of Emma.

Harvington shrugged. "Yeah, so? Doesn't mean I poisoned them."

"Do you know who this girl is?" Gibbs demanded.

A smirk played across Harvington's face. "As a matter of fact, I do happen to know her. Yup, I know Emma."

Gibbs turned around to face the mirror. Ziva took this as a signal to go get Emma.

Ziva walked-more like sprinted-down to autopsy. "Emma! You have to come to the observation room to see if you recognize the guy your dad is interrogating! Come on, quick!"

Jenny and Ducky helped Emma off the table and followed Ziva and Emma to the observation room.

It was a painful walk for Emma. The pain was growing worse and worse, worse and worse as the seconds ticked by. She felt sick again. "I think I'm gonna puke."

"There's a trash in here, Em," Ziva said, pulling Emma into observation. Emma raced to the wastebasket and emptied her stomach. She then stood up and looked at Ziva. "So what am I supposed to be doing?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ziva asked.

Emma nodded. "You don't have to worry about me, Ziva. Seriously, I'm _fine_," she added when she saw Ziva's face. "But come on, seriously, what am I supposed to be doing? Is this going to help the case of finding whoever tried to kill me with that poison at the restaurant?"

"Yes," Ziva confirmed, nodding. "This man, this man your father is interrogating at the moment, his name is John Harvington. Do you recognize him or know him personally from anywhere?"

Emma looked through the window into the interrogation room. Ziva, Jenny, and Ducky watched as the girl's eyes grew wide. "Oh. My. Gosh. Um, yeah, I recognize him, and I know him personally from somewhere. I've known him my whole life. And his name isn't John Harvington. It's just a cover name that he uses from time to time when he doesn't want to be recognized. This is not John Harvington. This is someone who we all believed to be dead. This man, right here, is my biological father."

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	6. The Outcome

**DISCLAIMER: YEAH, RIGHT!**

**Sorry about the "very frequent updates" thing! I've been having trouble with my computer, but no worries-it's all better now! The next and final chapter will be out sometime this week (and yes, there will be a spanking).**

**Hope you like it!**

Emma grew weaker and weaker throughout the day that Ducky said he had to keep an eye on her to make sure that she was okay. Meanwhile, John Harvington was proving to be difficult, as he wouldn't give any further information. All he had said was that he wanted a lawyer. The only thing the team was sure of about this guy at the moment was his real name, Walter Johnson.

When Walter's lawyer came, the whole world fell down for Emma, Gibbs, and Jenny. Walter's lawyer, Jason Smith, said, "Agent Gibbs, it isn't proven that my client's home isn't suitable for Emma. In fact, no signs of any type of abuse can be proven."

Gibbs had glared at the lawyer. "What do you mean? She winds up in a foster home, beaten, covered in bruises and injuries, and she hadn't been at school in a week. The most recent interaction with anyone who could do that to her would be Walter Johnson."

"It seems that only a jury will be able to determine what really happened," Jason announced, "so I'll schedule a court date."

"There's no need _for_ a court date! Emma is already Jenny and my daughter!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"Not if we can convince the jury that Walter's home is better for Emma."

* * *

Emma cried at what she was told. She would die before she went back to her father's house. Well, she figured that she'd die anyway from the pain of the food poisoning, but still...

When the day of the court hearing came, Emma was not well enough to make an appearance. She wasn't thrilled about that, but Jenny and Gibbs told her that she had to stay at NCIS.

Once Emma was sure everyone had left, she carefully stood up. A little bit of pain, but not too bad. She could definitely get outside and in a taxi and make it to the court in time for the hearing.

So that's just what she did. Using the allowance that Gibbs and Jenny had given her, she paid the driver and tipped him, then slowly walked into the court room.

A security guard looked at her. "Can I help you, Miss?"

"Um, yeah, the hearing in there is about where I'm going to end up living. Is there any possible way that I can speak with someone in there?"

"Well, the hearing hasn't begun yet, so you can go in."

Emma thanked the security guard and went in. She found Abby and sat beside her.

Abby smirked. "Emma, Gibbs is gonna whip your ass!"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know. But I have to be a witness. I gotta go talk to my parents."

"Good luck, Em," Abby said.

"Thanks, Abs."

Emma walked to Gibbs, Jenny, and Michelle Lee, their lawyer.

Gibbs and Jenny were pretty pissed, but it was the kind of pissed that parents get when their kid puts themselves in danger.

Before they could do anything about it, the judge came in.

"All rise."

Emma was scared. Michelle had said that it would be good for her to be a witness, so she was going to be. But she was still very scared.

"The court calls Emma Gibbs to the stand."

Emma bit her lip as Michelle asked, "Miss Gibbs, can you confirm that this man is your biological father?"

"Yes, that is my biological father."

Michelle nodded. "And has he beaten you before?"

Before Emma could get an answer out, Jason exclaimed, "I object! Due to the trauma in her childhood, Emma is not a reliable witness. She is only fourteen years old, still in her teenage years. She is an unreliable witness."

"Your honor, Emma's IQ is far beyond the average adult's IQ and she has taken many tests prior to this hearing. It is a fact that she is reliable, responsible, and intelligent enough to recall the details of her life previous to the recent adoption," Michelle calmly explained.

"Objection overruled," the judge announced.

Jason sighed angrily and sat back down.

Michelle once again faced Emma. "So, Emma, as I was saying before I was interrupted, has your father beaten you before?"

"Many times," Emma whispered.

Michelle nodded. "And you would say that because of the abuse and because of the drugs and alcohol, he is not the correct fit for apparent, correct?"

"That is correct. I don't feel comfortable being within his sight," Emma said.

After a few more witnesses and efforts, the jury had made a final decision.

A speaker stood up. "It has been confirmed that Walter Johnson is an unfit parent and Emma will continue to live her life as Emma Gibbs."

Emma and Jenny burst into tears and hugged each other.

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated, so please review!**

**Just out of curiousity, if I were to post a CSI: Miami corporal punishment/spanking fic, would you guys read it?**


	7. Each Breath Let Out

**DISCLAIMER: DO I EVEN HAVE TO SAY IT?**

**Thanks for the awesome reviews, guys! The CSI: Miami spanking fic is posted on my account now. It'll be a multi-chapter fic, just like this one, but I'm unsure of how many chapters yet.**

**WARNING: SPANKING IN THIS CHAPTER. YOU GUYS ALL KNEW IT WAS COMING. JUST DON'T FLAME, BECAUSE I'LL LAUGH AT YOU.**

**This is a short and sweet ending chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

Emma knew she was in trouble. Her parents were seriously pissed when she ended up in the court room earlier today. Her dad (Gibbs) had told her to go straight up to her room and that he'd be up in a minute. Emma was certain that he was going to talk to her mom (Jenny) about spanking her.

_Oh, well_, Emma thought. _At least it's because they love me._

Emma could hear the conversation going on in her parents' bedroom. "Well, I think she does understand that it's not abuse," Jenny said.

Emma sighed. If Jenny wasn't on her side, she knew that she had no hope.

Gibbs came in her room.

"Look, I know what I did was dangerous for my recovery, but can we just get this over with?" Emma asked.

"Yes," Gibbs answered, wanting to get this over with to. He didn't want to have to punish his daughter, but it had to be done.

Gibbs pulled Emma over his lap. He decided that he'd let her keep her pants up; she had had a long day.

When the first swat came down, Emma winced. _Oh, no, _she thought. As they swats went on, they seemed to get harder. They hurt more and more each time. She squirmed a little bit.

"Emma," Gibbs warned.

She stopped squirming. She felt tears coming, but she was determined to hold them back. Gibbs raised her bottom and spanked her sit spots.

It took thiry swats to bring a sound from Emma. At first it was just a whimper, but at sixty swats, she was crying.

Gibbs pulled her into his arm. "I'm sorry, honey. It's over now. I got you, Emma. I love you."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Jenny watched from the door with a smile on her face and a few stray tears finding their way down her cheeks. It was most definitely a sweet father-daughter moment.

She walked over to her husband and daughter and joined the hug.

**_The End_**

**Short ending chapter! Thanks to all my reviewers, subscribers, and everyone who added this story/me to their favorites list! I really appreciate it!**

**The CSI: Miami spanking fic is posted now!**


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